it's not just the education community watching this case. as sylvia hall reports, so are some of the nation's biggest companies. >> i hope the court rules that a student's race and ethnicity should not be considered when applying to the university of texas. >> reporter: that's abigail fisher, who was denied a spot in the school's 2008 freshman class. u.t. says race wasn't a factor, but fisher maintai she was rejected because she's white. that accusation could change the way colleges have picked their students for decades. by state law, three quarters of u.t.'s students are accepted automatically, because they are in the top 10% of their high school classes. the rest go through what the university calls a holistic review, considering factors, like grades, essays, personal experiences and race. even fewer students got in that way in 2008, when fisher didn't make the cut. >> there are going to be certain financial consequences to this young lady because she could not attend the school of her preference. as u.t. says, it is critical within texas